wait, can you really buy alcohol at 16?  that's obscene, man; i thought it was 18 at least!

free

Corporation.

Just a massive corporation.

All the people living in the USA are workers in the company called the US Government.

wait, can you really buy alcohol at 16?  that's obscene, man; i thought it was 18 at least!

One thing I like about the US is how children can die for their country before they can legally drink. Also...

Elephantine.

The US of A is big. Really, really, REALLY big. As in WAY big. Capital B Big. It's also kinda backwards and inconsiderate, but 'big' really captures what the US is all about, I think. I would have called it big, but you don't get to call something 'elephantine' very often so there. It's elephantine.

I would have called it big, but you don't get to call something 'elephantine' very often so there. It's elephantine.

That's a pretty spiffy word, elephantine. I'll have to use it sometime. We do buzzwords as a joke in our English essays; maybe I'll slip it in there. Well, I would if school hadn't ended.

Me? I think people are really too negative all of the time. I'm supposed to be living in a ridiculously conservative, badly educated, wasteful state, but it's still preferable to most places I can think of living. In fact, it's pretty gosh-darned nice. I've been in different parts of the world, in Europe and in the industrialized parts of Africa, and I still prefer the U.S. Mostly because Europe is freakin' expensive and Africa has the most corrupt governments ever. But the thing about freedom in America is that it gives us the power to screw up, but also gives us the ability to change it. I think that's pretty cool.

Also, I don't know why people make such a big deal when we call it America. It's not like we're ignoring the other countries; we just have freaking AMERICA in our name. When Mexico becomes the "Mexico-America", or Canada becomes "North America's United Regions of Canada" or whatever, sure, you can have a claim to the name, too. It's just easier to say "Americans" rather than "United States of Americans", is all. The use of America just happens to follow along with that.

Personally, for a word to describe the United States, I'd use... accountable? Or some synonym that makes more sense. We're not responsible for all of the world's problems, and we're certainly not as bad as we're made out to be, but in terms of scapegoats, I'd say that we're the easiest country to blame.

I'd also agree with opportunity. I think it's pretty scary how in some countries you have to take a test as a kid that will decide the rest of your life for you. It's so easy here to get a great education here at a minimal price, as long as you actually work toward your goals. It's so ridiculously achievable that it's a bit frightening.

I'd also agree with opportunity. I think it's pretty scary how in some countries you have to take a test as a kid that will decide the rest of your life for you. It's so easy here to get a great education here at a minimal price, as long as you actually work toward your goals. It's so ridiculously achievable that it's a bit frightening.

I think it's pretty scary how in your country where you live will decide what school you go to. Oh, and can you get into university for less than 4000 dollars a year (like me)?

I think it's pretty scary how in your country where you live will decide what school you go to.

I don't understand, isn't that how it is pretty much supposed to be? Unless you are talking about tertiary education, which where you live doesn't neccessarily govern where you go to school. Though, it's usually much more economical.

I don't understand, isn't that how it is pretty much supposed to be? Unless you are talking about tertiary education, which where you live doesn't neccessarily govern where you go to school. Though, it's usually much more economical.

What do you mean, supposed to be? Here in the Netherlands, you just pick a school, any school. Nobody but your parents care whether you have to travel for hours to get there. There are usually several nearby 'middle schools', often more that one per city, offering several levels of education. I had to cycle for half an hour to school and back again every day (which by the way is about the norm for living in a rural area). A lot of kids go to an elementary school in a different town every when there's one in their own village. If I was forced to take the closest middle school I'd be flipping burgers by now. There's a test at the end of elementary school to determine which level of middle school education is most suited to you, but you can ignore it if you want.

What do you mean, supposed to be? Here in the Netherlands, you just pick a school, any school. Nobody but your parents care whether you have to travel for hours to get there. There are usually several nearby 'middle schools', often more that one per city, offering several levels of education. I had to cycle for half an hour to school and back again every day (which by the way is about the norm for living in a rural area). A lot of kids go to an elementary school in a different town every when there's one in their own village. If I was forced to take the closest middle school I'd be flipping burgers by now. There's a test at the end of elementary school to determine which level of middle school education is most suited to you, but you can ignore it if you want.

I guess I am too accustomed to my parents forcing me to go to a close school, and I honestly hate going to where I go. It's a pretty shitty school, but I don't have much of a choice. I can walk about .4 km down the road, and see my school, so it's really close to where I live.

I think it's pretty scary how in your country where you live will decide what school you go to. Oh, and can you get into university for less than 4000 dollars a year (like me)?

Man, I can go to university for FREE. And there's magnet/IB programs to enter if you want. You're not limited to your geographical options in any way. Provided you want to drive (just like the situation you describe) to get to your destination, there's really no problem.